The external parasite season is about to begin and, as a loving family, you want to offer your pet the best protection to ensure its health and comfort during this risky period. However, among all the existing antiparasitic devices you don’t know which one to choose. We help you to see a little more clearly in this article dedicated to the protection of your faithful companion!
Why is it important to protect your pet?
As a happy family lucky enough to have a dog or female dog, you’ve no doubt heard about pest season every year. But what does this really mean? Simply that certain times of the year are more conducive to the presence of fleas, lice, ticks, mosquitoes and other pests than others.
Indeed, even if these are present all year long in our environment, the mild/warm seasons are the ones where parasites reproduce and are therefore the most numerous and active.
As you can imagine, once these parasites have contaminated the coat of your dog or female dog, they cause a real discomfort by being, in particular, at the origin of big itchings, of pain at the time of bites… That has a considerable impact on the wellbeing of your animal, on the beauty of its coat, but also on its health. Parasites cause a general weakening, but also, in the most serious cases, some of them are vectors of serious diseases and/or transmissible to humans.
In order to preserve your dear companion as well as your family, it is therefore necessary to have recourse to effective anti-parasite protections.
Insecticide or insect repellent?
Preventive treatments allow to act upstream and prevent parasite infestations and curative treatments tend to act immediately by eliminating parasites that have already contaminated the dog or female dog.
Preventive treatments
Antiparasitic treatments for external parasites with a preventive vocation are insect repellent and most often use naturally repellent molecules such as margosa, lavandin or geraniol. They exert a repulsive action to repel parasites and deter them from contaminating the animal.
The use of these products is ideal at the beginning of the parasite season when they are not too active, on an indoor cat that is not very exposed to the risk of infestation, during calmer seasons or even in the most sensitive animals that have undesirable reactions to chemical molecules.
However, in case of heavy infestation by parasites, the expected response may not be sufficient by using natural antiparasitic products alone.
Curative treatments
They use the effectiveness of powerful chemical molecules with insecticidal effect such as imidacloprid, fipronil, permethrin or methoprene.
With a complete action, they act quickly to kill the parasites already present and complete this action with a lasting repellent effect to avoid reinfestation.
These devices ensure maximum safety for dogs and cats against external parasites during the full season, or even longer.
The different forms of anti-parasite products
There are multiple devices to effectively preserve the well-being and health of your pet. Depending on their composition, the treatments have an insecticide or insect repellent action or both. Also, they have different durations of action and some references are more complete than others by offering protection against several external parasites.
- Collar: it is simply placed around the neck, like a classic collar. It diffuses its active ingredients permanently on the whole body of the animal. For dogs, there are several sizes, to be chosen according to the weight which then determines the length of the collar.
After placing the collar, the anti-parasite effect is immediate against fleas (adults and larvae) and generally after 48 hours for ticks.
Thanks to its long-lasting effectiveness, the collar is therefore an ideal device for families who are a little distracted and might forget to renew a treatment with a shorter duration of action.
However, beware of animals with skin sensitivities, as it can cause redness and itching. Also, if the dog is used to swimming, prolonged exposure in water will degrade the effectiveness of the product. - Pipettes: they come in the form of a single-dose liquid product to be poured onto the skin.
For a dog, the application is generally done between the shoulder blades or in 4 points along the spine, from the neck to the base of the tail. The reference of the pipette adapted for his dog is to be chosen according to his weight, thus determining the quantity of product present in the single dose.
For cats, who are gifted contortionists, it is advisable to apply the entire pipette at the base of the neck or between the shoulder blades to prevent them from licking the hair on the application area and thus ingesting the product.
This device is fast-acting and works in about 24 to 48 hours. The pipette is effective for about 1 month, so it is necessary to renew the application frequently enough to protect your pet. - Spray: The spray is applied directly by vaporization on the whole coat. Some products are 2-in-1 and can also be used to treat and prevent infestations on its favorite sleeping places. Once sprayed on the animal, simply massage to penetrate deeply into the skin and brush to remove the parasites. The spray is effective for about 1 month.
- Powder: Powder acts on the surface and is a good alternative for the more timid dogs and cats who may be frightened by the sound of a spray. It should be applied to the coat once or twice a week.
- Shampoo: Shampoo is traditionally used in combination with an anti-parasite treatment. In case of heavy infestation, it is recommended to use an anti-flea shampoo beforehand in order to remove as many as possible. Also, the ticks must be removed with a tick forceps for a gentle removal and not to risk leaving the head of the parasite in the skin of the animal. 24 hours after shampooing, you can apply the anti-parasite device of your choice.
To go further against parasites
When the dog or female dog is infested, it is extremely important to treat its direct environment, i.e. the home, at the same time. This is for the well-being of the family and also to avoid reinfestations.
A single flea can lay up to 100 eggs per day. These eggs will fall out of the animal’s coat, get lodged in the house and then hatch into an adult flea, which will reinfest the animal. It is therefore necessary to put an end to this vicious circle by means of adapted treatments.
After treating your dog and cat with a suitable antiparasitic device, it is imperative to machine wash the bed, blanket, etc… where the animal likes to lie down. Also, the vacuum cleaner must be passed in every corner of the house, and the contents of the device must be destroyed and the vacuum washed.
Two dedicated products can then be used to eliminate the fogger or spray.
The fogger works like a smoke generator which, once placed in the center of a room and switched on, spreads an anti-parasite active ingredient throughout the house. It eliminates pests at all stages of their development and in every corner. The spray, on the other hand, has a local action because it is sprayed manually in the places at risk where pests like to lodge.
As you can see, using one or more antiparasitic products is essential to ensure the well-being and health of your dog or female dog, especially during high-risk periods.
Different factors can motivate your choice among the available references: having recourse to chemical molecules or preferring natural products, living in a risk area where a specific parasite is particularly present, choosing a product that is easier to use than another, taking into account the sensitivity of your pet…
Finally, it is essential to choose a product that is perfectly adapted to your pet. Thus, a product for cats should not be applied to dogs and vice versa. For example, the permethrin molecule is harmless for a dog, but deadly for a feline. It is also important to choose a product according to the weight of your dog and to pay attention to the minimum age required, as some products are not suitable for puppies or kittens.
